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Curbside pickup and shop-by-text: Businesses find ways to stay open with closed doors

Books Revisted has a sign posted for its new business plan Wednesday, April 15, 2020, in St. Cloud.(Photo: Zach Dwyer, zdwyer@stcloudtimes.com)

ST. CLOUD — With most businesses closed due to the coronavirus, local retailers are getting creative to cater to their customers.

Expanded and interactive online sales, curbside pickups and even deliveries are some of the ideas being implemented through at least May 4, when the state's stay-at-home order is set to expire.

When popular downtown decor shop Copper Pony closed, it opened up online shopping for the first time, said co-owner Brandon Johnson.

"We had a website, basically a landing page for our business, but we didn't have e-commerce yet," Johnson said earlier this week.

The owners had been considering online sales for a while, he said. Customers from across the state and country were "begging" to shop online, and the owners were working on cataloging the store's inventory on the website.

Then the coronavirus forced all non-essential businesses to close their doors.

"This was definitely the opportunity," Johnson said. In the two weeks since the store openedonline sales, it shipped over 100 orders.

Some of those orders were Easter gift boxes, Johnson said. They've sold "curated bags" before — bundles of gifts put together around a theme. It's a product the store will focus on more as the shutdown continues. In fact, staff is putting together another package for Mother's Day.

Copper Pony will continue to grow its online catalog even after the pandemic passes, Johnson said.

The store held a curbside pickup time April 9 for people who had placed orders by phone, and staff is considering doing another one in the future. They're even considering starting a surprise box service.

"We're working to re-create our store experience," Johnson said, but it just won't be the same until he's able to reopen the store.

The Copper Pony is pictured Wednesday, April 15, 2020, in St. Cloud.(Photo: Zach Dwyer, zdwyer@stcloudtimes.com)

Crafts Direct in Waite Park has another unusual way of re-creating the in-store experience — videos on its Facebook page of items on their shelves.

Customers can text directly with staff about items they're looking for, and staff can send them photo or video of products they want, said co-owner Scott Schlecht.

"It just made it easier to communicate with our customers," he said.

Crafts Direct's online sales started two years ago, Schlecht said. Orders started to ramp up a week before the order to close its doors.

Schlecht said people buying supplies for Easter crafts bolstered web sales a little. "It's not nearly as much as what we normally do, but it's something."

The spring months are usually when Books Revisited buys the most used titles, said manager and book buyer Jon Lee.

With its doors closed, "it's very much not business as usual," Lee said. The store has always had an online presence, and years ago would have done the majority of its sales online.

In recent years the store "flipped" to doing most of its business in person, Lee said. Staff at the shop bought and sold used books, fulfilled special orders and helped customers find the right titles. It's the kind of customer service a website can't replace.

During the shutdown, the store is back to online sales. Orders come online and by phone, but Lee said most of his calls have been for special orders. "That's always been a cornerstone."

Much of the bookstore's staff has been furloughed, Lee said. Those who remain update the online catalog, work on special orders or deliver books.

"Times are tough, you know," Lee said. With the shop doors closed, he's doing all he can to continue to help people find things to read.

"It's important to let our customers know we're still here," he said.

Erik Newland is the suburbs reporter for the St. Cloud Times. Reach him at 320-255-8761 or enewland@stcloudtimes.com. Follow him on Twitter @SCTimesErik.